Lightsaber Form 8: Fulcrum, Path of the Lighthouse
by Corwin Black
Summary: This is a Fan Fiction story of a new Lightsaber combat form and its originator. The form itself is largely based on Ed Parker Kenpo.
1. Chapter 1: Form 8, Fulcrum

The History and Development of Lightsaber Form 8: Fulcrum

By the Jedi Historian; Corwin Black: Year 2017 ABY

Form 8 was a very well developed but almost unheard of lightsaber form initially developed between 30 and 22 BBY (Before the Battle of Yavin). The practitioners of this style are rare and only six, possibly seven (depending on which historian you talk to) masters of this form are recognized as such. What is not in question is who originally created the Fulcrum style of lightsaber combat. Alexander Wolf, an unorthodox Jedi by anyone's and everyone's standards created the form to match his unusual and sometimes described as "backwards" approach to almost everything he did as a Jedi. To better understand Fulcrum we should examine the life and Jedi career of the master who developed it.

Alexander Wolf was not a pure human and was born somewhere between 240 & 130 BBY. Alexander Wolf himself wasn't even sure of his actual date of birth. His father was a rogue Jedi and his mother was Miraluka. He was raised by his Grandmother, also a Miraluka, and never knew his parents. Alexander was not even certain if his Grandmother was a blood relative. As with many hybrids of Human/Miraluka origin he had an unusual connection to the force. First of all he was very long lived. He was discovered by Yoda in 26 BBY; and Wolf was supposedly 100 to 200 years old; although he was actually much older.

By aging standards Wolf was a middle aged man who had spent the last several decades as a force empowered bounty hunter, and gambler. Even before he was discovered my Master Yoda; Alex Wolf had obtained a very old lightsaber (with a green blade) and knew how to use it, although his form appeared crude and simplistic. He had used the force to increase his odds at gambling so many times that he had been thrown out of more casinos than he could count. However, if the confrontation turned violent, as a few of them did; the bouncers would find themselves leading Wolf into a back alley to teach him a lesson, only to find themselves distributed into a greater number of trashcans than bouncers.

When forced to resort to violence the seemingly calm and peaceful Wolf would turn insanely vicious. Once his lightsaber was turned on Wolf would show them all of the power. Jabba the Hutt was one of the first to recognize Wolf's ability at cheating at the craps table. Jabba was also one of the first to lose over three dozen bouncers over the course of several years trying to evict him forcefully. Alex always waited until the bouncers got him out of harms way ensuring that innocents were not around to be harmed. That's when asked politely to just be let go. If they decided to turn violent instead then Wolf tore into the bouncers like a rancor who had just been kicked in the 'you know whats'.

Eventually Jabba and Ziro the Hutt employed legendary bounty hunter Jango Fett to hunt down and, "ensure that this troublesome wolf of a man never entered one of their casinos ever again." Jango left Kamino on his way to one of the Casinos on the outer rim where he assumed that Wolf would eventually show up at. On the way there Jango reviewed the surveillance footage of Wolf. Interestingly, the electronic surveillance was almost never able to accurately pick up what Wolf actually looked like. Alexander had developed a form of force illusion that was specific to fooling and corrupting electronics from recording him accurately. Later Yoda would observe that it was like a force power that was the offspring of Force Meditation and Force Illusion..

However, Jango made several observations about Wolf from these records. Wolf was calm and almost passive on the outside. He would even ask the bouncers nicely to not hurt him, with a fair amount of sincerity. However, once it did turn violent Wolf attacked with such brutality it even shocked Jango. One such attack occurred on Nar Shaddaa.

Jango would later recount what he saw to Jabba and Ziro as justification on his resolution to their conflict with Alexander Wolf. At the small but full service Casino in the Gama district of Nar Shaddaa; Wolf would bet on pod races, usually only minutes before the race began, and won more often than not. Once the race was over he would collect his winnings as fast as possible and then leave the building with the same kind of urgency as a Rock Star after a concert. This method of beating the house had won Alexander Wolf more credits than he had ever won at the craps table; a fact that Ziro and Jabba were un aware of. Wolf had made off with millions of credits from betting off of pod races and the Hutts were none the wiser.

It was during one of these instances that Jango first met up with his quarry. Wolf had bet on four races that day. He lost miserably on the first two and lost tens of thousands of credits, The third race was a long shot and he won over seven hundred thousand credits on 30 to 1 odds, against. The fourth race was a "sure thing" and Wolf lost almost 100 thousand credits on that race; ironically the odds on that race was a 3 to 1 favorite. Jango noticed that some unsavory types had taken a real notice to Wolf and after seeing him win big on the one race; placed bets just as he did on the final one, where they lost all of their money. The gang of six unruly gamblers, who were also wanted for violent crimes, followed Wolf out the back only to discover that they were not as magnificent as they thought they were. Jango had a front row seat to this confrontation.

As the six of them cornered Wolf and surrounded him outside of the Casino in an alley they failed to realize that instead of Wolf walking into their ambush, Wolf had already anticipated their move and used the situation to ambush them. When the assailants demanded the cash at gunpoint Wolf asked them, really rather nicely, "Hey guys just let me keep what I've earned because I'm more trouble than I am worth and I really don't want anyone to get hurt, like me; for example." This only angered them. Seeing no way out of a fight Wolf threw down the bag of money to the assailants in front of him which distracted them and tricked them into thinking that Wolf was going to comply. That's when Wolf stomped his left foot on the ground and demonstrated a unique Force ability that he had developed. Gravity reversal. When he stopped the feet all six bad guys flew straight up in the air four to six meters. Wolf then maneuvered, using the force, without moving his feet and seemingly glided backwards a few feet such that when the assailants who were once behind him now fell right in front of him.

As the two fell to their impending doom Wolf pulled out his lightsaber and he cut the assailant on his left simply by putting the Cyan blade in the assailant's path and letting gravity do the rest. With the second assailant hitting the ground, and braking his legs Wolf plunged the tip of the blade through the bad guys neck and slashed forward as the bad guy fell backward. Jango had never seen a Jedi perform such brutal attacks against opponents who were clearly outclassed. He had only seen such things from Darth Tyranus, a Sith Lord.

The other assailants quickly realized that this was a really bad idea and ran away, as fast as they could on legs and ankles that had been sprained or broken by their fall. Jango expected the brutal force user to lunge at them and cut them down with little or no effort. However, Wolf simply let them limp away, and picked up his money.

It was after this that Jango spoke with Wolf, kindly asking him to refrain from visiting casinos or using bookies employed by the Hutts. Wolf agreed and went upon his way. Jango reported his findings to Jabba the Hutt instead of Ziro. He felt that Jabba, while quicker to anger, was a lot smarter than Ziro. Jango explained that this force user was like a lighthouse; easy to negotiate with, and catastrophic to ram into; Jabba agreed. This was the first time that Alexander Wolf was compared to a lighthouse, and it is credited with giving form 8 its title, "Path of the Lighthouse."

Ziro the Hutt was not so satisfied with Jango's solution of simply asking Alexander Wolf to leave them alone; which ironically actually worked. Instead Ziro petitioned the Jedi council to intervene and reel in this rogue Jedi; going as far as to call him a 'Dark Lord of corruption and murder. The fact that Ziro the Hutt who was legendary for his corruption and murder plots; was found to be hilarious to a large number of Jedi.

Ziro's demands went largely ignored by the Jedi Council. Force users and lightsaber wielders outside of the official Jedi Order, while very rare were not unheard of in the galaxy, and didn't particularly raise the interest of the Jedi, especially when he was disrupting the corrupt empire of the Hutts.

However, when a description of this mysterious force user's lightsaber found its way to Yoda, he took a sharp interest in it. Yoda inquired with Ziro about the mysterious 'Jedi'; more out of curiosity than out of a sense of duty to Ziro. When Yoda got a fairly good video image of the lightsaber; Yoda was noticeably intrigued as well as concerned. The saber was none other than the one that had belonged to Qui-Gon-Jinn.

The saber of Qui-Gon-Jinn, after the battle of Naboo was in the possession of Obi-Wan-Kenobi. After Obi-Wan-Kenobi constructed his second lightsaber Qui-Gon's lightsaber had 'disappeared'. Obi-Wan-Kenobi reported it stolen; from his quarters in the Jedi temple no less; a very unlikely occurrence. However, he never found it.

Yoda searched through the force. He eventually made contact with Qui-Gon-Jinn's force ghost. After a brief discussion; Yoda knew what to do. He took a sabbatical from the Jedi order. This was not necessarily unusual. Yoda was, after all, hundreds of years old and was known to take a couple of years off once in a while. However, with tensions rising in the galaxy Mace Windu took notice of how unusual the timing was. Windu decided that Yoda knew what he was doing and his sabbatical was approved unanimously.

Windu however, was deliberate to ask Yoda to not hesitate to call on him or anyone else in the Jedi order if their assistance would be 'helpful' during Yoda's supposed 'sabbatical'. Mace Windu surmised that Yoda wouldn't take a sabbatical right after a Sith Lord had been discovered without a real good, but possibly concerning, reason.

MORE TO COME!


	2. Chapter 2: Form 8, Fulcrum

The Beginnings of the 8th form of Lightsaber Combat: Fulcrum

Yoda noticed many things about Alexander Wolf that simply wouldn't work with traditional Jedi training. First of all Wolf was strongly left hand dominant; a very rare trait among Jedi. Also Wolf's unique ability to manipulate gravity in cool and interesting ways opened up unique capabilities in lightsaber combat.

Alexander Wolf also showed an affinity towards lightsaber to lightsaber combat that Yoda hadn't seen in centuries. It reminded him of a Padawan that Yoda had taught several hundred years earlier. It was this observation that led Yoda to surmise that Alexander Wolf was in fact his old Padawan's son.

Yoda's small size and mastery of Ataru lightsaber combat style simply wasn't going to be advantageous for Wolf. Instead Yoda focused on helping him to develop his force powers. Especially, his unique ability to control gravity. Yoda did teach him the basics of Shii-Cho. Instead of rewriting Wolf's improvised lightsaber style which emphasized stability, torque, and reliability; he worked on incorporating and adapting Shii-Cho into Wolf's own style. This was the beginning of the creation of Form 8; Fulcrum, the Path of the Lighthouse.

From here Wolf had the unique opportunity to train with many of the best masters of the Jedi order. Yoda and his new apprentice cut short Yoda's sabbatical to join Kit Fisto on a "routine" mission. To say that Kit Fisto was surprised would be an understatement. Yoda emphasized that while Wolf was his apprentice he was not part of the Jedi Order. Despite the fact that Yoda knew he was creating tremendous waves with a new and unofficial padawan he asked Fisto to teach Wolf the style of Shii-Cho and help Wolf adapt the style to his rare abilities. Kit Fisto liked Wolf; and taught him form one. Fisto, better than anyone else was well suited to adapt Shii-Cho to Wolf being a southpaw. Alexander Wolf knew that he had been sent to the front of the line to study with a master like Fisto. It was an opportunity and an honor that he took very seriously.

As news came to Mace Windu that Yoda had acquired a new apprentice he contemplated how he was going to handle the situation. Yoda informed Windu that this apprentice in particular was gifted in lightsaber to lightsaber combat and he had an uncanny ability to fight his better fights against stronger opponents. Master Windu decided to let Yoda proceed as he saw fit with his full support; a wise decision indeed.

With the learning of Shii-Cho Wolf continued to expand his own lightsaber style in association with his force abilities. His ability to reverse gravity expanded with an ability to change density of an object or himself, and also the ability to change friction. In regards to his lightsaber fighting he practiced hand switches extensively learning every Shii-Cho technique both right handed and switching to left handed and doing so seamlessly. He favored a lightsaber that was longer in the hilt and slightly shorter in the blade giving an emphasis on leverage rather than on speed or power. The ability to switch from one type of blow to another, one side to the other, offense to defense; often within the same movement, and to somehow keep all these things in balance was where his focus took him.

It was at this point that Alexander Wolf began construction of his own lightsaber. He went through so many iterations that he scrapped at least a dozen perfectly good designs, and in some cases complete sabers; to learn all he could about lightsaber construction, each better than the last. While he experimented with different saber types and components one thing he did settle on was a longer hilt and slightly shorter blade.

During this time Kit Fisto decided that there was little more for him to teach Wolf about form one; not because there was nothing left to learn, but because further mastery of form one didn't fit Wolf's tendency to fight one handed, two handed, reverse grip, orthodox grip, right handed and left handed and everywhere in between.

It was during this time that Wolf had a few 'close encounters' with Darth Tyranus. Although the sith Lord was able to hide his true identity from Wolf he succeeded and scaring the hell out of him. Tyranus was taken totally by surprise by Wolf's force ability to alter friction on the ground. When the Sith Lord suddenly had trouble keeping his footing on what should have been solid ground he gave Wolf an opportunity. Tyranus had noticed a tremendous amount of aggression in him; for this reason Tyranus thought that Wolf would attack when he lost his footing and struck a defensive pose. Wolf instead turned tail and ran like his life depended on it.

Expressing his concerns to Yoda, who still oversaw and directed all of his training, Wolf was sent to train with Obi-Wan-Kenobi to address his concerns. Obi-Wan had begun his mastery of Soresu many years before and Wolf took to the form well. However, again instead of adopting the form he adapted it to his own unique emphasis on stability, reliability, mirroring right and left handed attacks and movements.

It was here that Obi-Wan-Kenobi further compared Alexander Wolf to a lighthouse. Obi-Wan noted that it was like instead of a Jedi mastering and moving in his environment, it was like Alexander Wolf through the force was forcing his surroundings to adapt to him; just like how a lighthouse seems to force the waves and the ocean to give way to the lighted tower.

It was during this time that Alexander Wolf constructed his most famous lightsaber, which he named "Slingshot" after his first dog. Slingshot was designed to take an inordinate amount of abuse.

The handle and grip was milled from a single cylinder. The metal used was a proprietary aluminum alloy, known only as AL1-CX-47g. The cylinder that was 1 & 1/4 inches wide and 18 inches long to begin with; cost more than most governments could afford. Wolf also used his unique force abilities in regards to density to make it even more durable. So durable it was that the company who did the milling required Wolf to supply them with steel blanks made with similar process to have dyes strong enough to mill the aluminum. Wolf took these dyes with him when the saber was finished. Also, Wolf had three handles constructed. After all if he was going through that much trouble why only make one?

The chassis on the inside of the blade was made from 4150 cold hammer forged chrome molly steel and case hardened with a special fenocite process and then it was nickel boron coated to keep any where and tear from friction between the handle and the chassis. Again, this process was extraordinarily expensive.

The cost mounting to construct Slingshot was rising faster than the Republic's new advanced joint space fighter project. However, Wolf had spent decades cheating at the dog and pod races and had amassed an immense fortune. No body really knew how much money he had. It has been suggested that Alexander didn't even keep good track of how much his investments were worth; but it was a lot. Yoda had seen Wolf drop millions on art works that were thought to be priceless. This was an inexpensive habit compared to how expensive his lightsaber was to build. For all the money he spent, however, Wolf didn't go out of his way to make the saber expensive. He simply believed that you got what you paid for and he got the best; the very, very best. The rest of the lightsaber construction was only revealed after he encountered Ahsoka Tano many years latter.

Mace Windu took an interest in Yoda's sponsored apprentice and saw an opportunity in him. When the clone wars began, hand to hand combat from opponents began to crop up quite a bit. Droids and enemy soldiers with sufficient staves to fight a lightsaber and other weapons were now becoming a threat. Furthermore, Dooku had been revealed as a Sith Lord. Windu started training Alexander Wolf with a heavy emphasis on lightsaber and hand to hand combat. Wolf became a "secret weapon" of the Jedi Order. For example: when a sect of Mandalorian warriors trained heavily in lightsaber combat Wolf was dispatched to eliminate that threat. These Madalorians had hoped to take advantage of the Jedi's neglect of lightsaber to lightsaber combat. Wolf's Fulcrum style of lightsaber combat proved to take them completely by surprise and they took very heavy casualties.

Fulcrum went on to be a rarely taught style. Its roots in Forms I, III, and VII were as opposite as the star is from the moon and Jedi who had the ability to seamlessly incorporate these styles were as rare as a blue moon. But when they did arise they became lightsaber combat specialists to be reckoned with. However, this style never did vanish from the galaxy. Someone always had a master to teach them and an apprentice to teach.

COMING SOON: Technical Description of Lightsaber Form 8: Fulcrum;


	3. Chapter 3: Form 8: The Dance of Death

Preface: It is noteworthy that these principles given here are not based in fiction. They are based heavily on the Chinese Kenpo in the Ed Parker lineage. I want to give credit to my Sensei Dennis Laycock; who taught me to have the psychology of a prize fighter.

-Thanx; Corwin Black

 **Lightsaber Form 8: Series One: The Dance of Death.**

 **PRINCIPLE ONE:** The Mind.

The mind of the Jedi practitioner of Fulcrum is like the careful consideration one must give to where, when, and how a lighthouse is constructed. You are building a simple structure and dangerous ground that is assaulted by even more dangerous attacks. The idea is not to be fast, or strong, but reliable. You must have a plan, and it must be simple. You can not build a lighthouse unless you know where you are starting, where you need to finish; and then how to get there will fall in place.

The first step in learning Fulcrum is reading the book. Yes there is a manual. It's not very long, or very complicated. Truthfully its most common criticism is usually that any trained monkey could read it. However, that is part of the lesson of Fulcrum. It's not how complicated the thing is that is important; it's how well you must know it. The academic study of Fulcrum in the first phase; called, 'The Dance of Death' is studied extensively and to the point where the practitioner can repeat its principles and its destination with boring repetition. In fact, the stated goal on day one for a potential initiate is to learn this manual until you are absolutely board with it; but can recite it verbatim.

The reading level of this manual is first grade at best however. Anyone who can't master it completely probably shouldn't own a lightsaber. Once the potential student can pass a quiz with a 100% in less than 17 seconds, and do so 7 out of 7 times then they can become 'initiates'.

A common joke among the teachers and initiates of Fulcrum is that you must pass the written test sitting at a desk, standing up, lying down, or hanging upside down from a flag pole in the rain.

Forever after this a Fulcrum practitioner is called a 'Lighthouse' spelled with a capitol. The Lighthouse's opponent is called the 'Corsair' also with a capitol.

 **PHILOSOPHICAL CURRICULUM: Death is no game.**

An important philosophical idea is taught during the reading of the manual; that death is no game. It is serious stuff. A lightsaber is designed to kill. It can be used for many other things, but it's not designed for those things. It's designed to kill, not wound, not maim. It is designed to kill. Once your lightsaber is activated in anger your sole purpose is to kill the Corsair that forced its activation. It is the duty of the Corsair to retreat, not the Lighthouse. You should not show them the power unless you have to. But if, or when, you have to; show them the power all of it.

It is this brutal dedication to absolute destruction and certain death of the Corsair (or opponent) that kept Form 8 from being taught to many Jedi. A Jedi must have obtained a certain maturity about violence before they should be taught these things; was the overall thinking. Fulcrum practitioners disagreed. Alexander Wolf the founder of the Fulcrum style of lightsaber combat would constantly say that a child should learn it immediately after learning to speak. The first thing a Lighthouse should learn to say is 'mommy' and 'daddy' the second is 'death is no game.'

Ironically Fulcrum is not a popular style among Sith or dark Jedi because they want you to read the book first. Are you kidding? That's like asking a Klingon to brush his teeth; apaukch that!

Gray Jedi take to this form very well however, or Jedi who are more mature.

 **PRINCIPLE TWO: Welcome to 'The Dance of Death'.**

The first set of physical moves for Fulcrum is called 'The Dance of Death'. The Dance of Death principle incorporates three maneuvers which are ALWAYS done in this order. First Parry, second Move, third Strike. All techniques taught to the student have these three elements and they always go in that order. What's important about 'The Dance of Death' is that the mind can send commands to your hands and feet faster than the body can execute them. Thus; to the mind's eye of the Lighthouse (the Fulcrum practitioner) these elements seem and appear to be linear and not simultaneous; but to the Corsair these three maneuvers appear to be all at the same time in one fluid motion. The Corsair is unable to know where one ends and the other begins, the Lighthouse knows exactly where and how they occur. This is just like a real pirate ship and a real lighthouse. The pirate ship doesn't know where all the rocks under the water are; but the lighthouse does.

 **SECOND PRINCIPLE: Observation Wins Championships** :

This philosophical principle of Fulcrum teaches that any Lighthouse who sees a ship passing by should know several things about them instantly; the direction of their gaze, the expression in their eyes and in their lips (they are not often the same), and their foot and hand dominance (Foot dominance IS more important than hand dominance)

 **THIRD PRINCIPLE: HANDS FIRST.**

Another principle taught here is that the Lighthouse's hands ALWAYS move before the feet do. Moving your feet first will always telegraph your maneuver; offensive or defensive, and lead to utter failure at best; and destruction at worst. Any Lighthouse who fails to learn the hands first rule has a very short career and usually die very quickly. Remember the mind commands faster than the body reacts; so in the physical world these things will take place simultaneously but in the mental world they are linear; and moving the hands proceeds moving the feet, then onto the strike. There is no need for the Lighthouse to regard these maneuvers as simultaneous; that just confuses the body because the mind is already way ahead.

Mastering 'Hands First' also introduces one of the most important factors of Fulcrum. Since the attention of the Corsair is drawn to the hands before the feet; the Corsair is never truly aware of where the impending attack will come from.

 **FOURTH PRINCIPLE:** **The Blender.**

The food blender is not a very complicated piece of equipment. However, I don't know anyone; from Jedi Master to complete idiot; who would want to get their hands caught in it. It is this principle that the blocks, moves, and strikes of Fulcrum are based around.

The Basic blocks, moves, and strikes of Shii-Cho are learned at this point by the Lighthouse. Like the manual, none of them are complicated.

Their are eight grips in Fulcrum. These are like the musical notes in a scale. A Lighthouse can not boogie to the Dance of Death without music and you can not compose music unless you know all the notes. These grips are characterized as follows

First Group

1) Strong hand; Forward grip; single hand

2) Support hand; forward grip; single hand

3) Strong hand; Reverse grip; single hand

4) Support hand; Reverse Grip; Single hand

Second Group

1) Strong hand; Forward grip; both hands

2) Support hand; forward grip; both hands

3) Strong hand; Reverse grip; both hands

4) Support hand; Reverse Grip; Both hands

Lighthouse initiates must learn all the basic parries, moves, and strikes with all eight of these combinations. It can be boringly repetitive; but its absolute mastery to do everything eight different ways is the very foundation of Fulcrum. Many games and training songs have been developed to not only help Lighthouse initiates learn the maneuvers but to help maintain their sanity, and the sanity of the teacher.

 **Closing arguments of 'The Dance of Death'**

The 'Dance of Death' is as much an academic exercise as it is a physical one. The complexities and the depth of life vs death considerations help moderate the rigid repetition of the physical work. Physically the work is absolutely boring, and its absolute mastery is essential to staying alive longer than a couple of seconds in a lightsaber fight.

Because Lighthouse initiates are well versed in the grim reality and finality of death they are slow to anger, and many potential Corsairs who come into conflict with a Lighthouse sense this and often back down without resorting to an angry clash.

It is not wise to attack a lighthouse, even if you're a battleship. Eventually, no matter how badly the battleship can hammer the lighthouse; the battleship will sink.


	4. Chapter 4: Form 8: Saber Construction

Preface from the Historian: Corwin Black 2017 ABY (After the Battle of Yavin)

Greetings lightsaber and force historians and enthusiasts. It is with great pleasure that I retell here a treatise originally written in 019 BBY during the first months of the reign of Emperor Palpatine. Now, over two thousand years latter it is still clear to the reader that this treatise was written by a master of the style who had earned wisdom from many battle and training scars.

This is only one of the two treatise that Alexander Wolf wrote on the subject of Form 8: Fulcrum. This one details to a saber smith the methods of lightsaber construction for the Jedi employing the style. It focuses on the dimensions of the hilt and blade, but ignores the inner workings of the lightsaber. This is done intentionally. The Jedi himself must put all the pieces together. However, since the machining and raw engineering of the hilt are very specific and labor intensive, it requires a level of engineering that a Jedi is unlikely to have the time to master. Simply put he will need the help of competent mechanical engineer or machinist to built these components of the weapons.

Enjoy the treatise:

Corwin Black; Jedi Historian

2017 ABY

THE TREATISE ON LIGHTSABERS CONSTRUCTED FOR FULCRUM: PATH OF THE LIGHTHOUSE (FORM 8)

The lightsaber that is typically optimized for the 8th form of lightsaber combat has detailed measurements based on the size of the wielder. I, Alexander Wolf, creator and master of Fulcrum have deliberately done all of these calculations in inches. I avoid the metric system like it is beneath me. I appreciate that engineers are trained typically in the quick and easy path of the metric system. However, lightsaber combat proficiency or master is neither quick nor easy. The Imperial Inch (NOT the metric inch) is in tune with the natural order of the universe. It imitates the natural flow of the Force. The Metric system is a human invention that attempts to develop itself in the absence of the known universe and then force all of the universe's laws to its will.

I understand that engineers may not know or realize the difference, or the significance. Thus I will put it another way. I am paying A LOT of money to have these components constructed and I INSIST that the measurements given here in inches, stay in inches. Not converted to metric (doing so and I will cut your arm off, just kidding :-). It is NOT in metric inches (an inch defined as 2.54 centimeters). The actual imperial inch is a non-repeating decimal that goes on for infinity, like Pi & the circumference of a circle. It is slightly shorter than the metric inch.

In a force vision some years ago I saw a planet far into the future in a distant galaxy. There a man manned Stradivarius built the most magnificent violins that world had ever seen. Three hundred years later no one had been able to duplicate his work, despite expanding considerable resources. One, but not all, of the reasons they always fail is because they measure his instruments with the metric system. In that universe the metric system hadn't been invented until after Stradivarius died. This leads to an obvious question if they that world is spending such considerable resources to duplicate Stradivarius' designs WHY are they using a system of measurements which he did not use?

I will leave you with that mystery; and continue onto the construction of a lightsaber optimized for Fulcrum.

The method of obtaining the measurements are explained in detail, however is lt is more important to follow the directions precisely than it is to get the measurements precise to the 1/16th of an inch.

These lightsabers are divided into four sections.

ONE: The Blade

TWO: The Tsuba

Three: The Grip

Four: The Pommel

ONE: The length of the blade.

Blade length is from emitter to tip, or the actual cutting edge's length. The length of the blade should be an accurate duplication of another distance that is calculated according to the body of the Jedi intending to use it. Standing in a normal at rest stance. Strong Hand in a fist, the distance between the knuckles and the center of the side of the ankle, to within 1/8th of an inch. The direct line should not be perpendicular to the ground because the shoulders offset.

Any longer and you will get the blade caught up in your surroundings; resulting in a quick death. Any shorter and you will have trouble reaching your target; resulting in your complete annihilation.

Example: The distance from my knuckles to my ankle while standing at rest is 31 inches, Give or take an eighth of an inch.

MEASUREMENT 2: The Tsuba

The second measurement is the length of the tsuba. The tsuba is 1&1/4 inches thick along the axis of the blade. The tsuba should measure 1" from the blade to the top of the tsuba and also 1" from the blade to the bottom of the tsuba; as you are looking directly at the tsuba from the top in such a manner that the blade will pierce your skull if activated accidentally. The width of the tsuba should be flush with diameter of the hilt at the bottom of the tsuba (see below).

Any longer than this and the tsuba itself will get caught on things resulting you getting your head cut off. Any shorter than this and it will be easy for an opponent to cut off your hands. If you don't believe me just ask (insert Jedi whose hand's have been cut off here); there are MANY to choose from.

The emitter should not extend beyond the tsuba more than 0 (zero) inches. Any longer than this and your saber will have its emitter destroyed by the first form one or form two specialist who is smart enough to smack your tsuba; and you will loose one arm & more likely both.

The emitter should be countersunk no more that 0 inches from the top of the tsuba. This means 'flush' for those whose assessment of the their engineering prowess exceeds the wisdom the Jedi master who is writing this treatise. Any shorter than this and the top of your tsuba will melt and you will be the subject of an infinite variety of jokes concerning sexual prowess. The funniest of with usually start with the phrase, "take my lightsaber out of the bag."

The circumference of the bottom of the tsuba should identical to the circumference of the handle where it attaches to the tsuba. It is to be equal to the number of INCHES (imperial inches) from the center of the Palm to the tip of the longest finger on the dominant hand. The diameter of the circular hilt at the top of the blade should be the CIRCUMFERENCE divided by Pi.

Do not cheat, engineer I'm talking to you. I have noticed that several engineers just cheat and make it 1 & 1/8th of an inch, thinking that one such as myself who has spent many years killing bad people will not notice; I will. The diameter is NOT 1&1/8 inches unless the circumference is 1.125*Pi! I'm a Jedi master I am certain of this baktag. Please do it my way and don't think of this as a punishment.

Any smaller than this and the wielder will drop the saber the first time a form 4, 5, or 7 specialist hits you with a power move.

Any larger than this and you will drop your saber while fighting a form 1,2, or 3 specialist.

Form 6 specialists will gain no advantage. From this error.

Engineers who take the quick and easy path and just make it 1.125" typically never hear a Jedi complain about it not because it didn't make a difference but because the Jedi is dead. The Lighthouse practitioner may not realize the error until he faces a Jedi who is an actual master of forms 1,2,3,4,5, or 7.

If the diameter of the hand guard is to small for the emitter to fit then use a smaller emitter or wait until the practitioner grows a little more. It is important to note that a young Jedi will almost never want this particular lightsaber constructed. Only a Form 8 Specialists who is embarking on the third phase of their curriculum (the Leap of Death) will have sufficient skill to take advantages of these optimizations.

The shape of the tsuba should be flat on the top and should be flat from the top of the hilt to 1/4 inch below the tsuba.

START HERE: THE SHAPE AND SLOPE OF THE TSUBA

The joint between the tsuba and the handle top should be I unperceivable. If it is not than it will cut the hand; and the Jedi will be killed by thugs in the parking lot of the grocery store because he left his saber at home because it hurts his hands and the Jedi used that as an excuse not to carry it thinking, "I won't think he'll need it to go to the grocery store." There is a reason I know this.

The activation switch on a typical lightsaber is mounted usually hear the middle of the lightsaber body. On a lightsaber optimized for Fulcrum the 'on' switch should be located on the FLAT side of the Tsuba where the Lighthouse can activate it with the SIDE of his thumb. Therefore the 'on' switch should be on the right side for a southpaw and on the left side for a right handed user. More on this latter. Putting it anywhere else and the Jedi will be killed by his own lightsaber because he's looking for the 'on' switch when he should be killing the bad guy. There is a reason I know this.

On the side OPPOSITE of the tsuba that has the 'on' switch there should be a 'blade lock' button. This serves the same purpose as a locking blade on a folding knife. The function of this button is to make totally, completely, and make absolutely Hu'tegh certain that the blade stays on while you are using it. The reason few Jedi absolutely insist (as in it's a deal breaker) on this feature is because the ones who needed it and didn't have it ARE DEAD. There is a reason I know this.

The blade lock switch itself should be in a place on the side of the tsuba opposite the side of the 'on' switch and it should be INCONVENIENT to press when the wielder has a proper dueling grip on the saber. Furthermore, there should be an illumination on the blade lock switch that should be small; but bright enough for a Sarlack to see from a nearby star system. This way the wielder will be able to know that his blade lock is working and not have to worry about the saber getting turned off in the middle of combat while the saber smith who fashioned the saber sits in a nice safe office somewhere drinking a double chocolate shot latté thinking to himself, "Yeah I should have installed the blade lock but it was too complicated and I'm sure he won't need it." Please just trust me on this one, your friend, as in me the Jedi, will be your friend for a much longer amount of time because he will live much longer. Thank you.

The proper functioning of the blade lock is as follows.

When the saber blade is turned on from the 'on' switch then the blade lock should come on automatically with its small but bright 'yes it's on' indicator light shinning brightly. The 'on' switch is then disabled until you press the blade lock and the 'on' switch at the same time. Once more; the Jedi who needed this feature but didn't think to INSIST on it ARE DEAD Hu'tegh. There are no words that express how truly appreciative I am that the sabersmith takes these instructions so seriously.

THE LENGTH OF THE HANDLE:

On to the handle. The length of the handle is the same length from the wrist of the dominant hand to the inside of the elbow along the inside of the forearm.

Any shorter than this and you will not be able to block with sufficient strength and you will get crushed. Any longer than that and the saber will get caught up with your own arms and you will get cut in half, perhaps several times.

The circumference of the base of the grip should be same as the length of the distance from the wrist to the end of the ring finger on the DOMINANT hand NOT the support hand.

Any smaller than this and you will drop your saber when you are hammered by a form 2,4,5 or 7 specialist; and you will run out of strength quickly against a form 1,2, or 3 specialist. Any thicker than this then when you encounter a form 6 specialist he will defeat you but it won't hurt for very long.

The bottom of the end of the handle should be directly behind the counterpoint of the Tsuba. This should give a slope and a curve to the grip that is in harmony with the wielder for which the measurements were taken.

The pommel should resemble the tsuba. Failure to do so will result in cutting your own foot off when switching from a forward grip to a reverse grip. The top of the Tsuba and the bottom of the pommel should be parallel, such that the back of the pommel gently curves just like the back of the grip & the front of the pommel should hook noticeably but not sharply.

End of Part one of the Treatise

In the Next Part:

Grip texture:

Aesthetics:

Crystal chamber:

Blade color:


	5. Chapter 5: Form 8 Sabers & Black Holes

**Lightsabers and Quantum Singularities; Lights and Black Holes**

By Corwin Black.

Preface from the Historian: Corwin Black 2017 ABY (After the Battle of Yavin)

Greetings lightsaber and force historians and enthusiasts. It is with great pleasure that I retell here a treatise originally written in 019 BBY during the first months of the reign of Emperor Palpatine. Now, over two thousand years later it is still clear to the reader that this treatise was written by a master of the style who had earned wisdom from many battle and training scars.

This is a treatise written by Alexander Wolf that details four sections of a lightsaber that are commonly misunderstood; in terms of what literature typically says about their actual functioning. My opinion of this as a historian is that it rings true.

Enjoy the treatise:

Corwin Black; Jedi Historian

2017 ABY

Now on to the Treatise written by Jedi Master Alexander Wolf in 019 BBY

LIGHTSABERS AND QUANTUM SINGULARITIES (How they are Related)

Dear Friends and allies. I am Alexander Wolf; Jedi Master under Master Yoda and having received Jedi instruction from my dear friends and fellow Jedi Kit Fisto the resilient; Shaak Ti the graceful; Obi-Wan-Kenobi the persistent; and Master Mace Windu the powerful. It is with great sorrow that I write this part of my treatise on Lightsaber construction. Many of my closest friends are now dead and worse than that I can confirm to you that Anakin Skywalker has fallen to the Dark Side.

It is with great regret that I did not say to some of them how much they meant to me before they had fallen and to others how much I loved...

Jedi and Force Sensitives of the galaxy. We live in dark times. Chancellor Palpatine has declared himself 'Emperor'; and sadly with the Jedi Order destroyed and the few of us that are left powerless to stop him, at least for now he will remain so for the foreseeable future. Up until now the inner workings of the lightsaber have been a mystery. A deliberate attempt to flood the info-net about their most important components have been propagated by the Jedi themselves.

The reason for this deception was founded in good intentions. If these schematics were ever actually known than just about anyone who was force sensitive could build a lightsaber, even at some of the earliest stages of training; although the quality of these sabers and their ability to be used safely by the wielder would be questionable at best. I will not elaborate on this further in this treatise other than to say this. With the Jedi Order now destroyed I am publishing this on the info-net so that the information will be available to anyone who comes across it. Just because you have the information doesn't mean that you can use it. You still must be an ally of the force. However, up till now this secrecy has only aided the enemies of the Jedi.

No doubt there will be many who come across this and say that it is not 'canon' or 'official' if someone says so just simply nod and smile and say, 'wow thanks for telling me that.'

Now, on to the explication.

The Emitter

The emitter of the lightsaber is one of the most misunderstood parts of lightsabers. In order to truly understand it; we will examine it first. A light saber is exactly that; a light that is formed in the shape of a saber blade; and done so by the components in the hilt. A common misconception is that the blade's do not have mass; or they do not have mass but they do have inertia (called the gyroscopic effect), or that they do have mass & inertia but it works in a funky mysterious force'ie' kind of way.

Here is the truth. The blade does have mass, and it does have inertia but these things are not derived from the blade, or the light itself. The mass and the inertia are cause by the focusing crystal and it is shaped into the form of a blade by the lens. More on that later.

The emitter is actually a light. A very bright light. It is NOT a laser. Laser's simply are much to focused and have much to much range to be used in a lightsaber. The type of light is not actually new technology. It is called a BFL or officially a (B)right-cold (F)usion- (L)ight. This light was first invented around 5700 to 5500 before the reign of Emperor Palpatine; these dates are constantly disputed. The function of this light was to facilitate the ignition of cold fusion, by a combination of light and heat. Unfortunately for the inventors it worked. Not only did it create cold fusion it also created over 6.023X10^23 lumens and heat in the range of 17-37 million degrees Fahrenheit.

The first successful ignition of a BFL was well documented by the laboratory and the scientists right up to the point where it was turned on and the light ate through the shielding and killed everything in a large blast radius the size of which is still disputed.

After this accident the company that held the intellectual property to this discover published the results openly and promised never to enforce any patent laws. This was done more as a way of saying don't try it, it's just do dangerous.

It wasn't until the first lightsabers came into being that a practical use for the BFL was discovered.

The Lens (part 1):

The lens is actually a pretty boring piece of equipment. Interestingly it is perhaps the most important if you don't want to loose your hands, arms, or more. I will elaborate more on the lens after the discussion on the focusing crystal.

The Crystal 'Chamber'

The crystal chamber is where 'the money is' in a lightsaber. The purpose of the crystal is to contain the force and then use the force to contain a small quantum singularity; using the force to create the singularity. The singularity doesn't have to be very heavy. Remember you are going to have to carry this thing around, on your belt; or in your pocket. This artificial singularity should have a mass of no more than 1 gram; and an event horizon that is easily contained within the crystal.

At this point the Lightsaber crystal have two functions. Contain the singularity safely, and to shape the event horizon through the lenses and then through the emitter.

The event horizon of a black hole is defined as the distance at which the gravity of the singularity is so great that not even light can escape it. Contrary to popular belief it is not the crystal that generates the light; the BFL does that. The crystal does however determine the color of that light because it makes the event horizon of the singularity contained within able to be focused through the lens and that colors the light. It is the shape of the event horizon that shapes the "blade".

So what part of the lightsaber cuts; the singularity or the light? The answer is the light. If the singularity 'cut' then everything it touched (including the air around you) would be sucked into the singularity and the entire planet would be consumed in a matter of minutes. The event horizon contains the light from the BFL and prevents it from blowing up the planet, and the (B)right cold (F)usion (L)ight prevents anything except light from touching the event horizon and thereby saving the planet from implosion. This takes us to the lens. Remember the lens?

The Lens Part 2

The lens of a lightsaber is actually the part of the lightsaber that you don't want to get incorrect. Here is why; the lens not only focuses the event horizon just like it would actual light; It is an essential component in making sure the entire system doesn't have a catastrophic failure. Without the lens the crystal CAN NOT move the event horizon out of the crystal and without the lens the BFL can not be prevented from exploding in the 'megaton' range. To avoid the confusion the power cell MUST be inserted at the back end of the saber and the power chord would be run up along the saber, making certain that at some point; the power chord gets within 1 inch of the lens. Sabers are usually less than 1 & 1/4 inches in diameter so if the lens is in the 'middle' then misplacing the power chord should be idiot proof.

The reason the chord should be this close is that if the lens fails then it will destroy the power chord to the BFL and the saber will shut off (automatically); this is a good thing.

One final note on the lenses. It should be a relatively unexciting lens. In today's age of poly carbonate, transparent aluminum, force field type lenses etc. I often run into Padawans who want to use a really cool and expensive lens. It's difficult to explain to them that the reason that the saber keeps overloading during their attempts to assemble it is because their lens is of quality that greatly exceeds the maximum threshold of quality allowable. Here's what happens of you manage to use a high quality lens in a lightsaber. The event horizon (and then the blade) will be so absent of vibration that you won't be able to move the saber when it is activated. So when you turn the saber on it will stop moving; and it can not be moved by any force in the galaxy. This is very embarrassing and I've seen it happen.

What's important about a lens is that it is made out of glass, not another substance. The best source for lenses of these types is to go to a market for used children's toys and try to find a small one from a small magnifying glass. Don't use a kaleidoscope. Just don't.

The lens in my favorite lightsaber was actually taken from a glass prosthetic eye from a bounty that I captured while being a bounty hunter. He was a very bad person; by the way. I thought it was poetic that I would use his glass eye in a weapon of the light.

There is a friendly debate among Jedi masters on who can concoct the best story of how the obtained the lens that is in their lightsaber. I was king of the hill until...

The lens in Anakin Skywalker's second lightsaber was taken from a toy out of Senator Padme Amidala' s old toy collection. He didn't ask permission because he thought she might say no. When she found out about it (and she did; I was there when it happened); her reaction to this revelation is a matter of some debate. I did notice however that they both disappeared for over an hour and Anakin's hair was a mess. Lucky bastard.

 **The Power Source**

The amount of power required to use the BFL is tremendous. The best source of this power (the only one really) is a battery specifically designed for it. Batteries of this nature are extremely dangerous and can only be constructed and use in conjunction with a lightsaber crystal.

Using the force the event horizon is channeled into a standard lithium battery using the lens. This has the effect of folding the lithium over itself in the essence of space time (it's as dangerous as it sounds); and that creates a Dilithium battery. Simple.

The metal in the Saber itself;

The metal in the saber itself is inconsequential. Just make sure that it is sturdy enough that your hand will break; before it does.

MORE TO COME:

From here I will continue the treatise on the construction of the lightsaber that is optimized for Lightsaber Combat Form 8: Fulcrum; aka 'Path of the Lighthouse.'

More on:


End file.
